More companies and workers are offering and taking sabbaticals, according to data from Gusto, a payroll platform.

Why it matters: A still-tight labor market, remote work and Gen Z expectations are all driving the trend, Gusto chief economist Liz Wilke tells Axios.

State of play: The share of workers likely on a sabbatical — defined by Gusto as someone who is off for three weeks or more during a prior two-month period — rose from 3.3% in January 2019 to 6.7% as of January this year.

• The trend among Gen Z was even more pronounced: a jump from 1.7% to 8%. (See below.)

The big picture: Employers with less scale and capital to woo workers than the Walmarts of the world are "trying to respond in ways that they can," which is why Wilke says smaller businesses are offering the perk.

• And for workers — particularly remote workers — who struggle with feeling like they can't or shouldn't take vacation, sabbaticals take some of that pressure off because the "company basically decides that [they] take the time off instead," she adds.

The intrigue: For businesses, "paid time off and sabbaticals are not interchangeable solutions," Tamekah Ebanks, Gusto's head of benefits, adds.

• Sabbaticals are often granted to recognize and reward tenure and that could be a crucial way for companies to address turnover concerns.

💭 Hope's thought bubble: I just got back from a two-week sabbatical, which Axios awards after three years.

• Normally, I struggle with asking for and taking time off, but this was different: It felt celebratory, and I feel lucky to work for a company that considers the value of time-off rewards.

What they're saying: "Gen Zers are taking a lot more advantage of that benefit because they really value work-life balance," says Wilke.

• Simultaneously, older workers continue to change the way they think too, and Wilke expects there will be "increased demand and acceptance" of sabbaticals.

🌽 Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting is tomorrow in Omaha, Nebraska, where the target of its confidential wager in the financial industry could be revealed. (CNBC)

🏛️ The FTC has asked for more information on Novo's $16.5 billion deal for Catalent. (WSJ)

Health experts and the agricultural sector are watching the bird flu outbreak in dairy cattle closely.

Why it matters: The virus has infected a range of animals and it's raising questions about the risk posed to humans.

State of play: There's been one mild human infection detected so far, in a person exposed to dairy cattle, but some researchers suspect not all cases in workers are being spotted.

• U.S. regulators said this week that 30 retail store ground beef samples tested negative for the virus and that preliminary test results of other dairy products show that pasteurization inactivates the bird flu virus, Reuters reports.

What they're saying: An administration official told Axios it is "taking this outbreak seriously," adding the CDC has said the risk to human health for the general public is low.

• Yes, but: The H5N1 virus "has consistently been considered a virus with the potential to cause a pandemic," according to Reuters.

What we're watching: Cattle futures fluctuated in price this week as the U.S. Department of Agriculture banned infected cattle from crossing state borders, per FT.

Go deeper

I was among nearly 3,000 people who traveled from around the world to Ottawa, Canada, late last month to talk and think about the problem of global plastic pollution.

• Why it matters: The United Nations has a goal of creating a legally binding global plastics treaty aimed at everything from cutting production to creating a circular economy that could impact nearly every sector — from oil and chemical to packaged goods and retail.

The big picture: Much like the energy transition, solutions to this problem will be complex, expensive and highly localized.